Forbidden Portkey
by Elsajeni
Summary: AU, inspired by the film Forbidden Planet. After the War, Harry and his team are sent to retrieve the Settlers, a group sent away as insurance against the end of the Wizarding World. What they find is a makeshift graveyard - and only two survivors.
1. Teaser and Credits

_**Forbidden Portkey!**_

During the Second War, at a time when things were looking particularly bleak, a few trustworthy Wizarding families were sent to an Unplottable location. The Ministry's intent was to use them as the founders of a new world if the Wizarding world as we know it were destroyed. Now, after the defeat of Lord Voldemort, the colonists are left stranded, for the wards placed on them to prevent them from fleeing are too powerful to be broken except by a specific Portkey. Dumbledore has assembled a mission under the command of Harry Potter to take this Portkey to the colonists. But when Harry and his crew arrive, they find only a crude graveyard - and a single house left standing.

There are only two survivors.

**Note:** This film has been rated PG (parental guidance recommended) for: non-explicit gore; non-explicit heterosexual smooching; non-explicit character death; and plot developments based on those in the 1956 sci-fi movie _Forbidden Planet_, which is in turn supposedly based on Shakespeare's _The Tempest._

_Forbidden Planet_ is an MGM picture starring Leslie Nielsen, Anne Francis, Walter Pidgeon, and Robby the Robot and is available on DVD. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

* * *

Based on the Muggle film _Forbidden Planet_

Written and Directed by Elsajeni

_**Forbidden Portkey**_

-Starring-

_**Ginny Weasley**_

and

_**Harry Potter**_

-Featuring-

Bill Weasley _as_ The Professor

Draco Malfoy _as_ Captain Potter's Lieutenant

Hermione Granger _as_ The Medical Officer

Neville Longbottom _as_ The Quartermaster

-With-

Albus Dumbledore _as_ The General

The Chimpanzee _as_ The First Night's Monster

Lucius Malfoy _as_ The Second Night's Monster

Remus Lupin _as_ The Third Night's Monster

-And Introducing-

Robby the House-Elf _as_ Himself

Cinematography by Colin Creevey

Special Effects by Dean Thomas

Electronic Tonalities by Louis and Bebe Barron


	2. The Mission

"Ah, Captain Potter," the General said, looking for all the world as if the young man's appearance in his office were a complete surprise. "You're here. Please, sit down."

"Yes, sir." Harry sat, keeping his back straight. "I received your owl just after four o'clock, sir. I assume this regards a mission?"

"Indeed. First, and you must understand that this is classified at the highest levels... I don't know, Captain, exactly how well you recall the Settlement?"

"Oh, very well, General. I was already sixteen when they left. Quite a few of my friends went." Harry's lips curved upwards slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "An honorable mission."

"Of course, of course. Forgive an old man's forgetfulness." The General sighed. "A pity we had to separate you from your friends that way."

"I did wish I could join them at the time, sir."

General Dumbledore nodded. "A difficult situation for a sixteen-year-old boy. Nevertheless, you were needed here and the Settlers were needed there. But the War is, of course, definitively over now..."

The young man looked up sharply. "I'd wondered about that, sir," he said, a trace of well-hidden excitement in his tone - it was, he'd learned, important to maintain professional detachment when dealing with commanding officers. "It doesn't seem that we really need the Settlement anymore. But the wards..."

"The wards, Captain, were designed taking into consideration just this situation. The War is over, and nearly all of those whose deaths would have triggered the release of the Settlers remain in quite good health. Fortunately, there's no need to sit around twiddling our thumbs and waiting until the last of us is dead." A smile flickered across the General's face, as if he'd put some time into thinking up that sentence and was pleased to have the chance to use it. "The Portkey that will allow the Settlers through the wards can be _carried_ to them, with my authorization. Your mission, Captain Potter. Whom would you like to take as your crew?"

"My crew, sir?" Harry frowned. "Do I really need one, if all I'm doing is moving a Portkey about?"

"I would think you'd have realized by now, Captain, that solo missions are so rare as to be nearly unthinkable." The General frowned as well, and his frown considerably outranked Harry's. "And even beyond the consideration of _your_ safety, it's quite possible that the Settlers will need more assistance than you alone can provide. There have been times when it has been... difficult, at best, to supply them properly. You _will_ be accompanied by a medical officer and a quartermaster. Now, do you want to choose your crew, or shall I assume that your opinion is irrelevant and simply assign them?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Harry said, lowering his gaze once more to his own lap. "I didn't mean to question you. May I take Lieutenant Longbottom and Doctor Granger? I think they'd be pleased to see our - to see some of the Settlers again."

The General nodded. "Wise choices, Captain," he said solemnly. "I must say, though, that I'm not entirely comfortable with either of them as your second-in-command. The doctor is not very flexible, and Lieutenant Longbottom goes to pieces under stress. Might I suggest Lieutenant Malfoy?"

"Sir, you know-"

"I am aware that you and the lieutenant have had your differences in the past, of course," Dumbledore carried on as if he hadn't heard Harry's interjection. "However, he is the best qualified of any of our officers. I doubt there will be any problems between you on this mission. After all, as you say, you _are_ simply moving a Portkey about."

The General smiled, and Harry sighed, knowing that, like it or not, he was taking Draco Malfoy on this mission. "Yes, sir," he said politely. "Permission to leave, sir, and brief my crew?"

"Permission granted, Captain. I'll need all four of you back here tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."


	3. Setting Out

"Good morning, General." Harry held a salute until Dumbledore returned it, knowing that his crew, just behind him, was doing the same. "Reporting for our mission, sir, as per your orders. Is the Portkey ready?"

"It is." The General looked them over. There was excitement in the eyes of both Potter and Granger, and Longbottom looked nervous, but pleased - he wasn't often asked to take important missions. Malfoy, on the other hand, seemed rather bored. "Is your crew ready, Captain?"

"Yes, sir!" The four of them snapped clean salutes again.

Dumbledore chuckled. "At ease, at ease. Please, come inside. The Portkey is timed for nine-fifteen. Would anybody care for a sweet before you go?"

"Don't," Harry warned his crew. "Really, don't. You'll be sick if you've just eaten something."

"Some of us _have_ traveled by Portkey before, Potter," Malfoy said coldly, brushing past him. "It's Longbottom you need to be worried about; he'll be grabbing sweets like an infant. Where's this Portkey, then?"

Harry grabbed him by the sleeve. "You," he said, very quietly, "will address me as Captain. I am the ranking officer on this mission and expect to be treated as such. And if you want to eat while we're gone, you won't insult your quartermaster, either. Do you understand?"

There was a long moment's silence before Neville said gently, "There's no need for that, Captain. I wouldn't let anyone starve, not even Malfoy."

"Five minutes left," the General said from inside his office. "Captain Potter, you fully understand how to time the Portkey for departure?"

"I do, sir."

"Excellent, excellent. Come inside, all of you. Here it is." He held up a Beater's bat, smiling. "Nothing so eccentric for a former headmaster to have in his study, is it? From the year my school team won the championships or some such nonsense. And the length makes it ideal for a large number of people, of course. Grab on, please, all of you - you've only a minute or so left."

They obeyed, Harry noticeably shifting his grip to move his hand further from Malfoy's. "Good luck," Dumbledore said, adding gravely, "You may well need it," and then they were gone.


	4. The Settlement

Hermione was first to let go of the bat when they arrived. "Wow," she breathed, looking around. "Harry, this is amazing! I suppose the houses are on the other side of those hills. I never knew the Settlement had so much open space!"

"Seems like there should be more people around, doesn't it?" Harry said, pulling the bat out of his lieutenant's hand and shrinking it quickly to fit it into his pocket. "I hope everything's all right. Come on, let's see what's around, shall we?"

"I feel your standards aren't quite fair," Malfoy spoke up abruptly. "The doctor-" he executed a shallow, sarcastic bow in Hermione's direction- "isn't calling you 'Captain.' I shall be registering a complaint when we get back to headquarters."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Malfoy." Harry sighed. "Call me what you like, all right? Just try not to be a complete prat the _entire_ time we're here, if you could."

Hermione was already halfway up the nearest hill, Neville in tow. "Quit fighting and come on!" she called over her shoulder at the two men lingering behind. "Ron's over there somewhere!"

"Move carefully, Doctor," Harry called back to her. "Have your wand - is that a house-elf?"

The tiny creature had just crested the hill and was moving toward them at a dead run. "Stop!" it wheezed, flopping down on the grass to catch its breath. "Robby's master says you is to stop! Robby's master wants no interruptions to his experiments! You is not to come over the hills!"

"What is this-" Draco began, but Harry cut him off, "You're Robby, then? Hello, Robby. I'm Harry Potter."

Before he could introduce his crew, Robby nodded. "Robby knows who sir is, sir! Robby's master is telling him, you is to stop Harry Potter from coming over the hills! Sir..." The house-elf lowered his voice to a whisper. "Sir, Robby's master will be very angry if Harry Potter does not stop. Robby does not want his master to be angry, sir."

"Oh, come _on_," Malfoy said crossly, and he pushed past Harry. "Are we really going to listen to this - this _thing_? Who cares if its master gets angry with it? We _do_ have a mission, you know, Potter."

"Robby's master will not be angry with Robby, sir," the house-elf said quietly, looking even more frightened than was usual for a house-elf. "Robby's master knows that Robby tried his best."

"Well, that's good, at least!" Hermione said sharply. "His master's obviously not that dangerous, if he treats his house-elf properly. Come on, then - he's already said his master won't be angry, what are you waiting for?"

"He said his master wouldn't be angry with _him_," Harry pointed out. "He might still be angry with _us_. Robby, what is it that your master doesn't want interrupted? Can you tell us that?"

Robby swallowed hard. "Robby cannot tell Harry Potter what Robby's master is doing, sir. Robby has to go back and help. Please do not go over the hill, Harry Potter! Robby's master will be _very_ angry!" He turned and fled, disappearing over the hill almost immediately.

"Well," Neville said after a moment, breaking the silence. "That was odd. I wonder who his master is?"

"Susan Bones' mum had a house-elf, I think," Hermione mused. "But he was talking about a male master - I don't think he could've been hers."

"Unless she disposed of it and it found a new master," Malfoy pointed out. "Look, let's go on, shall we? I rather doubt there's anything lying in wait for us over the hill." He smirked. "Lead the way, _Captain_."

Harry drew his wand and moved to the front of the group. "Malfoy's right," he said aloud. "It's not as if Dumbledore would have sent a maniac as one of the Settlers, anyway. Let's go. Wands ready."

"If there aren't any dangerous maniacs, why do we need our wands out?"

"Shut up, Malfoy."

The group spread out as they walked, moving instinctively into one of the advancing formations they'd been taught during training, Neville and Hermione stepping between Harry and Malfoy by unspoken agreement. Just as they crested the hill, Hermione stumbled over something and cried out.

Harry was first to her side. "What is it?"

"I think there used to be a house here!"

Malfoy bent down and dug through the grass where she'd tripped, eventually exposing a few scattered bricks. "Look, you can still see where the foundation was. I wonder what happened?"

Hermione bent and picked up a bit of the soil, then let the breeze carry it out of her grip. "Ash," she said, straightening up. "And look, that brick's half melted. It must have been a fire. What happened to the people who lived here, though?"

"Er." It was Neville's voice, coming from a small grove of trees a bit further downhill. "Er, I... I think I've found them..."

"What?" The other three rushed to join him, slowing as they realized what he'd found. They entered the grove slowly, eyes wide, looking around them in something like horror. Then Hermione gave a strangled cry and ran over to one of the makeshift headstones.

"Ron! Harry, it's _Ron's_!"


	5. The Graveyard

Harry wasn't sure he was breathing. "Ron?" he managed. "It can't - that isn't-"

"He's not the only one," Malfoy said grimly from where he'd ventured a bit further inside the graveyard. "It looks like all the rest of the Weasleys are in here, too. Wait - no, I don't see the girl's name anywhere. And how many brothers were there?"

"Six," Hermione said numbly. "Ron and five others."

"Then one of them is missing, too. There's Fred, George, Percy, and Charlie here."

Harry stepped forward, leaning over the next gravestone he came to. "It's Bill that's missing, then," he called out. "And - Merlin, there's too _many_! Here's the Bones family..."

"Apt name now," Malfoy muttered under his breath, adding before anyone could reprimand him, "I'm sorry. That was... Circe, this one's a baby." He leaned closer and frowned at it. "Claudette Weasley? That sounds unlikely. And Fleur Weasley next to her."

"Bill's wife," supplied Hermione. "I suppose it's no surprise they had a baby. I mean, they've been here ten years..."

Neville emerged, stumbling, from around another tree. "The Patils are in there," he reported, "and a few names I didn't recognize. And I'm going to be sick." He disappeared again, this time in the opposite direction.

"Harry, you have a list of the Settlers, don't you?" Hermione said, seeming almost calm again. "We should check it against the gravestones and see who might be left. And I suppose we should write down the names of any children, too. There's another one here." She bent and brushed dirt off the engraving. "Rebecca Wood. She's between Oliver and Katie, they must have gotten married while they were here..."

"Right." Harry reached into his pocket and fumbled for the slip of parchment covered in Dumbledore's calligraphic handwriting. "Er... right. Malfoy, Hermione, read them off for me, will you?"

In the end, the only two names they couldn't find were Bill's and Ginny's, and Robby the house-elf. "Merlin," Harry whispered, looking down at the list, every name but three crossed off. "All of them dead..."

"Don't faint on us, Potter."

"Malfoy, shut _up_. They're dead. They're _all_ dead."

"You know what this means." Neville stepped out of the trees to their left, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand but looking much less green than he had a moment before. "Robby's master must be Bill. It's Bill that doesn't want us here."


	6. The Survivors

They made their way, eventually, to what seemed to be the only house still standing. On the way there, they'd glimpsed Robby a few times, half-hiding behind rocks and trees and looking increasingly alarmed as they got closer, but he hadn't approached them again. Hermione knocked on the door.

"Leave."

Harry stepped forward, not quite daring to push Hermione out of the way, but definitely moving her aside. "Bill, what happened here?"

There was a long pause before Bill shouted back, "Nothing. Leave."

"Bill!" Hermione couldn't contain herself. "We found the graveyard, Bill! We found Ron, we found all your family! _Something_ happened!"

The door swung open, revealing Bill. His hair had been inexpertly cut short, and he was sporting a goatee that he hadn't worn when the Settlers had left. "All right," he said with a sigh. "If you've seen the graveyard, then I suppose I don't have much choice. Come inside." He turned his head and shouted over his shoulder, "Tea, Gin! We have visitors!"

"_Visitors?_" a familiar voice called back from somewhere further inside the house. "Really? Who is it?"

"Nobody important! Stay in the kitchen!" Bill glanced back at the small crowd outside his front door, flashing a smile. "Sorry about this, but I don't want her getting her hopes up that we'll be able to leave... Robby will get the water and tea leaves for her, but all the same, I expect it'll be a few minutes. Come on in. The living room's this way."

Once they had all found seats in the living room, Draco deliberately choosing a chair as far from the rest of the crew as possible, Harry spoke again. "Bill, we're here to take you and Ginny home, but if it was an illness that - that killed everybody..." He left the sentence unfinished, hoping Bill would understand, would realize that a quarantine might be necessary.

"It wasn't," Bill assured him as Robby scurried in with a tea tray balanced over his head and distributed the steaming cups. "Anyway, they all died a long time ago. The last of them-" He looked down for a moment, wiping at his eyes, then fixed his gaze on Harry once more. His voice was hoarse. "Fleur was the last to go, just after Claudette. She didn't die the same way as the others. I think it was heartbreak more than anything else. That was three years ago. If there was any illness then, it's gone by now." He swallowed hard before saying in a more normal voice, "Anyway, Ginny and I are better off staying here. We're not in any danger, I assure you. You might as well just go back and tell Dumbledore that there was no one left at all."

"Ginny sounded _so_ eager to see visitors," Neville spoke up. "I find it hard to believe that she really wants to stay here. Let her come out and see us, and then she can make up her own mind what she wants."

"Even if she does want to stay here, I don't think we can just leave you," Hermione said, sounding rather nervous. "I mean, we have orders to bring you back. We can't disobey them."

"You haven't changed a bit, have you, Hermione?" Bill laughed before adding, "You know, it _is_ safe to drink the tea. Even if you don't trust me, it was Ginny that made it."

The crew glanced at each other. "I don't think we ought to," Harry said at last. "The water and leaves came from here. For all we know, they could be connected to the way the other Settlers died. Until you tell us what happened-"

"All right," Bill said softly. "I'll explain it, but you won't believe it. There are monsters here - monsters you can't see unless you're the one they're stalking. They took the others, one at a time. Starting at sundown, someone would see something - usually it was some sort of animal, a wolf or a tiger or something, but whatever it was, it was always something that scared them out of their wits. The rest of us could only hear it - heavy footsteps, animals roaring." He swallowed. "Sometimes we could hear them screaming. And then the next morning, we... we'd find them."

Hermione lifted her teacup, looked into it, and then set it down again. "People saw monsters that no one else could see, all of them some kind of wild animal, and every attack lasted for exactly one night..." She sighed. "All of it sounds like delusions of some kind. An illness, maybe, or a hallucinogen, causing increasing paranoia leading to suicide. Tell me, how were they found? Were their eyes gouged out? That would be consistent-"

"It wasn't anything they could have done to themselves." Bill's voice was hard. "They were ripped limb from limb. And maybe there's some people who can tear their own heads from their shoulders, but you tell me, Granger, how a man can set his own head out on the doorstep, and lock the door neatly behind it, when the rest of him is still lying in his bed!" The last sentence crescendoed to a furious shout.

"Bill, _stop_!" Ginny ran into the room. "Don't _talk_ about - oh. Oh, I'm sorry." She lowered her gaze and blushed brightly. "I got carried away. I'm sorry." With that, she turned to disappear through the same door she'd come in.

"Wait!" Hermione leapt up from her seat on one end of the couch and caught the younger woman by the arm. "Ginny, don't go. It's all right. We've come to take you back."

"I've _told_ you," Bill said harshly. "We don't _want_ to go back, and you're not going to force us to go. I don't care what your orders are. If the wards are broken, the monsters could find a way out. I will _not_ let that happen."

Hermione looked Ginny in the eye. "Do _you_ want to go back, Ginny?" she asked softly. "If you do, we'll take you. Just say the word."

"I... I don't want to," Ginny said, turning pink and looking down again. "I want what Bill wants. He's my only family."

"Thank you, Ginny." Bill stood up. "Gentlemen, Hermione, I hope you're all satisfied as to our wishes. The sooner you leave, the better. The monsters will begin to prowl at nightfall."

"I don't think we're ready to leave just yet," Hermione said smoothly, stepping between Bill and the door he was ushering them toward. "There are some things I'd still like to discuss with you about the deaths-"

"No." Bill glanced over at his younger sister. "Not in front of Ginny. She was only a child when they started. I won't have you reminding her of those days."

"Then we can talk in private," Neville supplied quickly. "Is there another room that would be suitable?"

Bill sighed. "Ginny, go and walk in the garden," he said, and his voice was weary.

"Alone?" Malfoy got to his feet indignantly, leaving Neville the only one still seated. "I will not allow a young lady to walk unprotected in an area that may harbor the kind of monsters you've described to us. Miss Weasley, may I escort you? I'm sure I'm not needed here."

"Malfoy, I don't think-" Harry began, but Bill waved him down, saying, "It's all right, Harry. She won't need any protection as long as the sun's up, Malfoy, but if it makes you feel better to walk with her, go on."

"But what if I don't want-"

"Ginny, _please_." Bill shooed her out toward the kitchen, Malfoy followed, and a moment later, they heard a door slam and Bill fell back into his chair. "That's those two got rid of, then," he said with a sigh. "Sit down, relax. What were you still wondering about, Hermione?"

"Well, I thought that perhaps-"

"Manners!" Bill sat bolt upright and clapped his hands. "Robby, come into the living room! Would any of you like something to eat or drink? If there's anything you want, Robby can conjure it."

Neville frowned. "He can conjure? I didn't think house-elves were allowed that kind of advanced magic."

"Well, most aren't, but when Mrs. Bones left Robby to me, I did a bit of research and lifted most of the limitations on his powers." Bill shrugged. "He can do just about anything they teach you at Hogwarts. Robby, I'd like a glass of Old Ogden's, please... anyone else? No? All right, then." The house-elf bowed, clapped his hands, and handed his master a glass out of the air, and Bill smiled. "Thank you, Robby, that's all. Now, Hermione, what were you saying?"


	7. In the Garden

Ginny walked quickly, trying to put some distance between herself and her unwanted chaperone, but Malfoy had no trouble catching up. "Weasley," he said, catching her by the arm. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

"Of course I do!" She whirled on him, indignant. "I'm happy here! I have the garden, and I have Bill, and Robby can get me anything I want, and... and the graves are here..." She half-turned, pulling a handkerchief from her sleeve and wiping her eyes. "I can't leave, Malfoy. Don't you see? I can't leave them alone here."

"All right. I see." Draco spoke more gently than usual, stepping forward and putting an arm around Ginny's shoulders as if confident that she wouldn't object. "I understand. If it were all my family, I wouldn't want to leave, either. Well, no, that's a lie, I'm not actually all that attached to my family, but in _principle_ I understand."

Ginny laughed at that, damply, and leaned further into Draco's embrace. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I don't know why the others can't understand that. Just leaving them out here, in the middle of nowhere..."

"I know." He sighed and pulled her closer still. "I know. I'll explain to the others..."

He could feel the tension go out of Ginny's shoulders at that. "You will?" she asked, looking up at him. "I don't... I mean, thank you, I... what..."

Draco smiled, hoping it didn't look as predatory as it felt. "You don't _owe_ me anything, Ginny," he whispered. "But if you _want_ to pay me back..."

"Is there something-"

"Just this." He leaned down and kissed her, roughly, forcing her lips apart with his tongue and pulling her body tight against his own. He'd been expecting a fight, but after a moment's stiffness, she relaxed - not quite kissing back, but yielding to him.

"Malfoy!" It was Harry's voice, calling from the doorway; the rest of them had, apparently, finished their discussion with Bill more quickly than he'd expected. "Malfoy, come on, we've got to - _Malfoy!_"

Hermione pushed past him and gasped. "You let go of her at _once_, you - you-" she began, but she couldn't think of an adequate insult to complete the sentence and was forced to finish rather lamely, "You let go of her!"

"Oh, for _heaven's_ sake," Malfoy said, breaking the kiss but keeping his hands on Ginny, preventing her from turning to face the others. "Allow me to point out, Granger, that Miss Weasley is a grown woman and is putting up no objection to being kissed. Now bugger off, you're ruining the mood."

"Terribly sorry, but the mood's going to have to stay ruined," Harry said with a sigh. "We've got reports to write up. Come _on_, Malfoy. Good to see you again, Ginny. I hope we'll get a chance to talk later." He and Neville each caught Malfoy by an arm and pried him off of Ginny, then frog-marched him back through the house- "'Bye, Bill-" and back into the hills where they'd landed.


	8. Family Obligations

The moment the door had shut behind them, Bill whirled on his sister. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, grasping her by the shoulders so that she couldn't wriggle away. "He is from _Outside_. If he's taken with you, he'll demand you go with him when he leaves!"

"I wouldn't go away with him," Ginny said quietly, her tone defensive. "You know I wouldn't."

"Then he'd want to stay with you." Bill sighed. "Gin, don't you see? They leave _us_ alone. You and me. They won't leave Malfoy alone. And if they get him, if they get a taste for wizard again - Ginny, I can't guarantee we'll be safe if it starts again."

Ginny stared at him, incredulous. "Are you seriously trying to tell me that if I ever kiss a boy we'll all die? Bill, I'm twenty-five years old! You can't go and-"

"_Please_," he said softly, reaching out with one hand but stopping before he touched her shoulder. "You're all I have left, Ginny. I don't want to lose you, too."

She burst into tears. "Damn you. _Damn_ you."

"Ginny-"

"Why do you always make me _want_ to do what you say?" With that, she whirled and left the room, leaving Bill standing just inside the door and staring after her.


	9. The Midnight Call

Hermione had been the first to spot the cluster of trees some distance from the cemetery grove, and she'd managed to convince them that the small tents they'd brought along would be better off there, in the shade. "Anyway," she'd said brightly, "this is in the opposite direction from where we came in. If Bill wants to give us any more trouble, I doubt he'll think to look for us here." That had done it for Malfoy - he seemed convinced that Bill was going to hunt him down overnight for daring to lay a hand on Ginny - and the other two had gone along with it, since they couldn't find any indication that they would be disturbed in the night there. So it came as a bit of a shock when, in the middle of the night, there was a knocking at the door of the men's tent and Robby stuck his head in, long ears bobbing gently up and down as if he'd only just stopped running.

Harry was the first to sit up, groaning. "Hello, Robby," he said, waving a hand in a vague sort of greeting. "What's up?"

"Robby is being sent for Mister Draco Malfoy!"

"What? _Malfoy?_ Right, just a minute..." Harry reached up to the bunk above his and nudged Malfoy. "Oi. You. House-elf wants a talk."

Robby shook his head furiously as Draco rolled over, tousled and looking bewildered. "Not a talk, Harry Potter! Robby is being sent to bring Mister Draco Malfoy back to Robby's mistress! Mister Draco Malfoy, is you ready to go?"

"Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit creepy for a house-elf to call someone its _mistress_?" Malfoy asked, then added, "Rhetorical question, by the way. You, elf. What does she want me for at three in the morning?"

"Robby's mistress did not say, sir. Is you coming, sir? Robby does not want to go back and tell his mistress he has failed..."

Neville sniggered from the other side of the tent. "Stud call, Malfoy. Off you go."

"Shut up." Draco sat up and banged his head on a shelf. "Ow. Look, elf, I'll need a minute to get dressed. Get out of here, and I'll come and fetch you when I'm ready."

"Don't call him _elf_, he's got a name," Harry said crossly. "Anyway, you don't need to get dressed. I'm sure she'll be _thrilled_ to see you in... in whatever that is you're wearing."

Malfoy straightened up, avoiding the shelf above him this time, and started down the ladder. "I am not going _anywhere_ in my smallclothes," he said haughtily. "_Outside_, elf."

"Name."

"Bugger _off_, Potter. Fine. Outside, _Robby_. And _you_ can turn around while I'm changing, filthy peeping Tom that you are."

Harry snorted and made a great show of rolling over to face the opposite direction, not turning back until he heard the outside flap of the tent opening. "Be back before sunrise, will you? The last thing we need to add to this mission is Hermione going mad because you come stumbling back all shag-drunk at noon."

"I do not _stumble_." Draco half-closed the tent, then opened it and began, "Not to mention that-"

"Go away." Harry yawned hugely. "Elf's waiting for you. Back before sunrise or I'll wait until you're asleep and hex a huge chunk out of that pretty hair."

That earned him a sneer and a rather ineffective attempt to slam the tent flap. "Goodnight, then," he sighed, and went back to sleep.


	10. Paying a Visit

Harry woke early the next morning, pleased to see that Malfoy was back in his bunk, apparently sound asleep. He stood and stretched, then nudged at the other man's mattress again. "Get up."

"Mmf." Malfoy rolled over and buried his face in a pillow. "G'way."

"Not until you've sat up. I'm leaving you in command for a while, but I'd rather you prove you're awake first."

He propped himself up on one elbow. "'M in charge? Where're you going?"

"I want a talk with Ginny." Harry stepped halfway out the door. "I should be back by noon. Spend some time exploring this end of the Settlement. Dumbledore'll probably want a map - I'd leave it to Hermione to draw it. And try not to be too much of an arse while I'm gone." With that, he left, shutting the door gently behind himself.

It was a long walk back to the house, but he enjoyed it - he hadn't had the chance to be outdoors much during the last years of the War, and the fresh air was nice. When he got there, Robby answered the door, squeaked, and nearly slammed it in his face before Harry managed to catch it and hold it open. "Robby! It's all right, it's just me! What's the matter?"

"Robby's master is not happy, sir," the house-elf said, looking around nervously. "Robby is being in trouble for bringing Mister Draco Malfoy to his mistress. What is you wanting, Harry Potter?"

"Can I talk to Ginny?"

"Robby is not to let _anyone_ see his mistress, Harry Potter." Robby glanced around again, then leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "But if Harry Potter promises Robby he will not tell Robby's master who let him in..."

Harry nodded. "I won't tell him. I promise."

"Harry Potter must say that Robby's mistress let him in herself."

"I will, don't worry."

Robby timidly checked the hall once more, then opened the door wide and beckoned Harry in. Harry passed by him with a whispered "Thanks," and as he tiptoed down the hall in the direction Robby pointed and into the kitchen, he could see the elf closing the door carefully so that it didn't make a sound.

He looked around and, satisfied that Bill wasn't lying in wait for intruders, quietly crossed the room until he was just behind Ginny where she sat at the table, knitting badly, without magic, and looking annoyed about it. "Ginny?"

"Oh!" She jumped up and spun to face him, nearly putting his eye out with one of her knitting needles. "Oh, Harry, it's you! I'm sorry about that-" She waved the needle again, narrowly missing piercing his ear this time, then added, "What are you doing here? How did you get into the house?"

"Robby let me in." He laid a hand on her shoulder in what he hoped she'd see as a brotherly gesture. "Look, I don't mean to bother you. I just - I _really_ don't think messing about with Malfoy is a good idea. I know, he's been on our side years and all that, but he's still Malfoy, and I can't imagine you'd be so quick to take up with him if there were other options." He hesitated. "Would you?"

Ginny turned around and started knitting again, fiercely. "I think you should probably leave," she said without looking at him.

He sighed and leaned over her shoulder, careful to stay out of the furious path of the needles. "Ginny, you _have_ other options," he whispered, and craned his neck around to kiss her.

It was some time before he made it back to the tent.


	11. The First Attack

That night, Harry and Malfoy lounged inside the tent, reading Quidditch magazines and not speaking to each other. Harry had just skipped past an article on the Chudley Cannons' new lineup, reminded too sharply of the orange posters papering Ron's old bedroom at the Burrow, when Neville burst into the tent, red in the face and out of breath. "I saw something," he blurted. "I was cooking, and I looked up, and there was something in the woods over there. Some kind of animal. It looked like some kind of monkey, but-"

Malfoy turned a page and, not looking up, said coldly, "I assume you know there _are_ no monkeys in Britain?"

"Well, it _looked_ like one," Neville repeated, folding his arms. "It was standing under one of the trees, on two legs, and it didn't look like it was much smaller than I am. And when I looked at it, it stood there for a second and _watched_ me before it ran away. I'm not going out there again without someone else to keep an eye out while I cook, so someone get up or you can both go forage in the woods for berries."

"And we'd have to forage for your share as well, I expect, since you'd be in here hiding from the killer monkey." Malfoy stood with a yawn and walked toward the door. "Come on, then, don't be such a coward."

Harry glanced up from his magazine. "Take your wand," he said mildly. "And be careful. He could really have seen something. Let me know right away if anything out of the ordinary happens."

Much as he'd expected, it was only a few moments before he could hear a heated argument developing outside the tent. He sighed and went back to the magazine, assuming that it was only the ordinary standing quarrel between the two young men; they hadn't patched up their old school rivalry any better than Malfoy and Harry had. Only half a sentence further down the page, though, he heard Neville shout, "It's right _there_, you bloody idiot!"

"What's going on out there?" Harry called, opening the door and putting his head out. "Is it the same thing again, Neville?"

"Yes! Over there, in the trees!"

Harry could see Malfoy scanning the woods where Neville was pointing, but there didn't seem to be anything there. "Where-"

"See the big bare branch sticking out? He's about ten feet to the left of it. He's looking right _at_ us. How can you not see him?"

"I don't see anything," Harry admitted, shading his eyes against what little sunlight was left in the sky and squinting. "It looks like a monkey, you said?"

Neville frowned in its direction. "He doesn't seem quite right for a monkey, actually. His eyes look different." He shuddered. "He looks really _smart_. Merlin, he's creepy... I'd swear he's watching me..."

"Of course it's not watching you." Harry cast a quick glare at Malfoy, who he was sure had been about to say that it most certainly was. "Wait, I think - no, it's just a shadow. Malfoy, can you see it at all?"

"No," Draco said crossly, "I try to spend as little time as possible hallucinating chimpanzees. Look, will you stay out here with him? I have things I'd rather do than baby-sit Longbottom while he has a nervous breakdown over our supper." He didn't wait for a response, just turned and went back into the tent.

Harry gave Neville a reassuring smile. "Maybe it's just a weird-looking tree trunk," he suggested.

"Maybe." Neville sounded doubtful, but he did go back to the cooking fire and check on the potatoes boiling there. Harry sat down on the grass and settled back, hands splayed out behind him.

"It's a nice night."

"He's waving at me."

Harry scrambled to his feet. "What? Are you sure?"

"He's _grinning_ and _waving_ at me. And it's not a _nice_ grin." Neville took several quick steps backward, his voice rising nervously. "It's Mister Chimpy. I know it is. I _know_ it is. He found me. He's been looking for me this whole time..." He took another faltering step and stumbled.

Harry caught him by the shoulder. "Hermione! Malfoy!" he called, then turned his attention back to Neville. "Look, who's Mister Chimpy? Why is he looking for you? What are you _talking_ about?"

"Mister Chimpy." Neville shivered and slid out of Harry's grip to land, trembling, on all fours on the grass. "He's... Gran got him for me when I was little, I was having nightmares and she thought I'd do better with something to hold at night... his _eyes_..."

"Neville, you're not making any _sense_," Harry said desperately, glancing up to see that the other members of his crew had come out of their tents and were standing a few feet away, staring. "What about his eyes, Neville? Was there something wrong with his eyes?"

"He was as big as I was." He looked up at Harry, a terrified plea in his eyes. "He had this nasty grin stitched on his face, it was awful, and his eyes were so _real_, I always thought they moved around like he was watching me, the nightmares only got worse..."

Harry looked up. "Go and check the woods over there," he told the other two, pointing toward the tree where Neville had sworn he saw the creature. "All right, so you were scared of him when you were a kid. Why would he be _looking_ for you?"

"I threw him in the rubbish bin," Neville said in a whisper, closing his eyes now as if he were growing resigned to his fate. "I threw him in the rubbish bin one day when I was seven, and it didn't get emptied for a week, and I could see his eyes all that time, watching me, and that _grin_... he was _angry_, I knew it, and I was so scared he was going to get out of the rubbish bin somehow and come and get revenge. I _knew_ he was smart enough to find a way, I always knew it, and it's been nineteen years and now he's done it, he's _found_ me..."

The others reappeared at the edge of the little grove where they'd camped. "We didn't see anything," Hermione said, but both their faces were white.

Harry stood. "Malfoy, you get Neville back into the tent and keep an eye on him," he said, and he was proud of how steady his voice stayed. "I'll finish supper. Hermione, you stay here and help me, please." The moment the door of the tent had closed behind the other two, though, he raised his eyebrows. "What happened?"

"We couldn't see anything, but it _sounded_ like there was something out there," she admitted. "There was this kind of chattering noise, moving around, but we couldn't find anything that might be making it. And every now and then, I could swear it was trying to actually _speak_. I don't mind saying it was spooky."

"Chattering?" Harry gazed off into the edge of the woods, under the tree where Neville had been staring. _Like a monkey..._ "Did you hear any of what Neville was saying? It sounds mad, but he's scared out of his wits. I think we ought to give up on the supper. It's getting dark fast, and honestly, he's scared me pretty well. Would you mind staying in our tent tonight, just so that no one's off on their own with something awful hanging around in the woods?"

Neville didn't snore at all that night, and in a restless dream, Harry thought he heard fabric tearing and a sound like chattering.

It was Hermione's shriek, early the next morning, that woke him and Malfoy up.

There was surprisingly little blood.


	12. Explanations

"Neville's dead."

Bill nodded. He didn't seem surprised. "Do you believe me now? Leave, or it'll be you next."

Hermione looked up at him. She still looked pale - she'd spent the night in the bunk over Neville's, which had made climbing down that morning a fairly horrifying experience - but her voice was strong. "Bill, please, I _know_ you know more about this than you're letting on. It wasn't a normal monster. It was too personal for that. He saw a toy monkey he'd been scared of when he was little. What _is_ this place?"

"I tried to tell you." Bill sighed. "Look, sit down, all of you. Robby, go and keep an eye on Ginny." The house-elf disappeared into the kitchen, and Bill looked around at his unwelcome guests. "I told you about the monsters," he said softly. "There's some kind of magic here that I don't understand. There's a cave in the woods to the east of here, and if you go inside, you hear things. Voices, I mean. They talk about when they lived here, like ghosts or something."

"Well, ghosts aren't-" Harry began.

"These aren't Hogwarts ghosts," Bill cut him off. "They never wanted us here. I think they still think of this place as their home, and we're coming in and taking it away from them."

Hermione frowned. "So, what, the ghosts send out the monsters to attack people?"

"I asked them about the monsters, once. It was just after Fred and George went - by that time, there weren't many of us left." Bill sat back in his chair, folding his hands carefully in his lap. "I went down to the cave and asked them if they were the ones attacking us, thinking that if they were, I'd ask them to let the rest of us be. After all, it's not as if we could leave. But they said it wasn't them. They _created_ the monsters, but they said they didn't control them after that. They said the monsters came to us because we drew them."

"Drew them?" Malfoy echoed. "That's mad. Anyway, if everyone draws them, how come they've left you and Ginny alone? I don't suppose the ghosts ever cleared that up for you?"

Bill sighed deeply. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell this part of the story," he said quietly. "But there's a test. Something you have to do, in the cave. They say it proves whether or not you're strong enough to control the monsters."

"_Control_ them?" Hermione leaned forward, her face eager. "You passed the test? You can control them now?"

"Don't get too excited," Harry said, drawing his wand and looking straight into Bill's eyes. "If you control them, then you're the one who sent them after Neville. Bill, I'm placing you under arrest for murder. We're leaving. _Now_."

"No!" Bill gripped the arms of his chair. "Harry, listen to me, it's not like that. I don't _control_ them, I'm just strong enough to _resist_ them. I passed the test, but only just. If you're determined to stay here, I can't protect you. It takes all I have just to keep Ginny and me safe, and I've been fighting like mad for three years to get stronger, to keep them even further away, because I _knew_ there'd be people coming back here someday and I didn't want it all to start again. I have gotten better. I'm ten times as strong as I was the first time I took the test. But if you're going to stay here, the only hope you've got is for one of you to pass it."

The three of them looked at each other, then back at Bill. By silent agreement, Harry asked the question. "What sort of a test is it?"

Bill shrugged. "Mental strength, I suppose. It might be courage. You have to face the ghosts, in whatever form they come to you. It's like having a vision. At first, you feel as if you've gone mad. You have to stay long enough to understand it, to see what the vision means. If you understand it, then you can find the way to end it, and you've passed the test. If you can't-" He looked away. "Percy tried it, a week after I did. We found him the next morning. It was... bloodier than usual. I think it makes you weaker, and they can smell it. If you fail the test, it brings the monsters faster."

"I see." Harry exchanged glances with what was left of his crew again. "Do you think any of us could pass it? I don't want to take an unnecessary risk going into that cave."

"You're taking an unnecessary risk just by _being_ here," Bill said harshly. "The three of you hanging around, tramping all over _their_ ground - you're practically _begging_ to be next, all of you. You're upset about Neville. That's only sensible. But the only way to keep yourselves from being next is to _leave_."

"We should wait." It was Malfoy who had spoken, authoritative, making it sound like the decision was made once and for all. "I think our first priority needs to be getting Miss Weasley out of here. If you-" he nodded at Bill- "want to stay here, it's your business, but I can't stand by in good conscience and allow you to make the decision for her. If she stays here, she's evidently in great danger."

"I'm afraid he's right," Harry put in, leaning forward. "We should take Ginny back to headquarters as soon as possible. Could she come in here, please?"

Bill sighed and leaned back in his chair, craning his head around toward the kitchen door. "Gin!" he called. "Come in here, would you? The situation's changed."

She appeared in the doorway almost immediately, wiping her hands nervously on the front of her trousers. "Is something wrong?" she asked, glancing around the room, then froze. "Where's Neville? What happened? Bill, you _swore_..."

"You swore?" Harry asked quickly, looking back up at him. "What did you swear, Bill?"

"Nothing." He cast an annoyed glance at his sister. "I told her I'd do what I could to keep you lot safe. Obviously, I couldn't do enough. If you _leave_, though..."

Harry sighed. "We're _not_ leaving yet, Bill. Malfoy's right. Let us take Ginny out of here, and then we'll negotiate with you to figure out what happens next. Whatever it is, I don't want her here for it."

"I'm not a kid, Harry." Ginny glowered at him. "I can take care of myself. I don't need you baby-sitting me."

"Ginny, it's not that we're trying to be condescending," Hermione said gently, standing up and walking over to the younger woman. "We just don't want you to get hurt. There's already been too much trouble here. We don't want to lose another friend."

Ginny looked up to meet her eyes, unflinching. "I don't want to leave without Harry."

"What?" Hermione looked over at the two men sitting on the couch, now pointedly not looking at one another. "Really, do the two of you have to fight over _everything_?"

"We never fought over her," Malfoy said stiffly, still staring intently at the wall.

Harry nodded. "That's true, for once. There wasn't any fight. She looked at the choices she had and made a sensible decision."

"I'm sorry," Bill interrupted, "but do you think perhaps we can postpone the gentlemanly arguing to sometime when your lives _aren't_ in immediate danger? Ginny - look, you know I don't want you to go, Gin. But I won't be responsible for putting you in danger, and I won't let you put yourself in danger, either. If this mess with Harry and Malfoy is as complicated as it seems, then the emotions it's creating will attract the monsters. If you go back, you'll be under Dumbledore's personal protection. You'll be safe. Will you at least think about it?"

She sighed and looked around, meeting all of their eyes in turn. Malfoy looked away from her gaze; Harry held it. "Look," she said, her voice gentle but definite, "I don't want to leave without Harry. As long as you're here, I'm staying. I'll be fine. I've been safe here for ten years, haven't I? Just because the monsters are back doesn't mean they're going to change their minds about not coming after me or Bill. I'll be _fine_."

Harry stood and crossed the room to stand at her side. "Think about it," he murmured, leaning in for a gentle kiss. "Stay here tonight, and stay indoors, and think about it. It's your decision, but at least consider my point of view. We'll figure everything out in the morning."


	13. The Second Attack

There was a subdued sort of argument over who would cook that night, which ended with all three of them standing moodily around the fire outside of the newly cleaned and mended tent, watching water boil in an old, battered cauldron.

"It's a nice sunset," Hermione said brightly, looking between the two men as if she'd intended to break the tension. "Don't you think so?"

"Sure." Harry glanced up at it. "Nice. Isn't it, Malfoy?"

Malfoy didn't answer. He was staring past them at the nearest hilltop. "Get inside," he said, stepping in front of them, his voice quiet and firm. "Hurry."

"What?" Harry moved forward, trying to follow Malfoy's gaze but unable to see anything to be afraid of. "What is it? Is there something up there?"

Malfoy looked irritated. "You _can_ see him, can't you? My father? Standing right on top of the hill there?"

"I don't see a thing," Harry said, stepping closer to the other young man. "I-"

"What about you?" Malfoy spun to face Hermione. His face was white, and when he pointed up at the hillside again, his finger was trembling. "You can't see him, either, can you?"

Hermione shook her head, biting her lower lip. "I'm sorry. I don't see anything."

"He's not really there." Malfoy stared quietly toward the apparition for a moment, then swore violently. "He's not there at all. He's just like Longbottom's monkey. I've got until morning, then, haven't I?" He pulled on his jacket in a firm, decisive motion. "I'm going for a walk. I have things to do before it's too late."


	14. Apologies

Ginny answered the door and stood, staring at him, apparently speechless. "Malfoy, what are you doing here?" she managed after a moment. "I thought I'd been pretty clear-"

"I'm not here to try out any new chat-up lines," he assured her. "I just - look, I saw something at sunset, and I don't think I'll be here to see you safely home in the morning. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you. I'm sorry."

"You didn't... I mean, I don't _think_ you took advantage of me." Ginny frowned. "You saw something? What do you mean? You - oh. Oh, _Merlin_. A monster, you mean. Oh, _Malfoy_..."

"Don't." Draco caught the hand that was reaching out to pull him closer, stopping it halfway between them. "I wish you'd chosen me, but I'm sure you know what's best. I hope things work out." He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, and it was a long moment before he straightened up. "Goodbye. I'm sure I've been a prat. I'm sorry."


	15. Goodbyes

Back at camp, Malfoy pulled Harry aside and into the tent. "Look," he began, "I may have been a bit of an arse to you lately."

Harry snorted at that. "A bit, yes," he said. "Practically infinitesimal. You've been an arse, no doubt about it, since I met you in Madam Malkin's before first year."

"True enough, I'm sure. But - well, look, I'm sorry about all that. I mean, apparently I'm going to be dead by morning. That sort of thing tends to make a fellow look back on his life." He half-smiled. "I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, look, you Gryffindors are supposed to be honorable and chivalrous and all that rot, so I expect you'll have the decency to honor a last wish or two. Make sure Ginny's out of here by tomorrow night, will you? She's safe tonight, I suppose, if they're focusing on me, but I don't want her hanging around here any longer than necessary." Malfoy hesitated. "And... well, just look after her. She picked you. That's fair. But if I find you're not taking care of her properly, I'll hang around haunting you so badly you won't be able to hear yourself think. And I assure you, I can be _much_ more vexing than Peeves when I want to be."

Harry looked up sharply at that. "Do you think you'll be a ghost?" he asked. "I mean - sorry. I wouldn't want to talk about it, if I were in your shoes. But I asked Nearly Headless Nick about it, once, and he told me you have to choose it the moment you die, and then that's it forever, no second chances. Do you think you're going to?"

"_Why_ would you Nearly Headless-" Malfoy shook his head and put up one hand as if in self-defense. "Don't answer that, please. I honestly am sorry for being such a prat all these years, but I don't want to actually be your _friend_."

"Oh, believe me, Malfoy, I wasn't harboring any illusions. Besides, if you were my friend, I'd have to actually _like_ you."

"Exactly." Draco gave an amiable little nod. "Anyway, I think - oh, for Merlin's sake. He's standing thirty feet behind you and looking at me over your shoulder. Doesn't he have _anything_ better to do?"

Harry blinked. "Sorry, who?"

"My father, idiot. Except that I suppose I ought to call him something else, since it's not really him." Malfoy sighed. "Anyway, never mind him. No, don't look, you won't be able to see anything and it'll only give him the satisfaction of knowing he's getting to me. What were we talking about?"

"Ghosts." Harry tried to glance inconspicuously over his shoulder. "Do you think they can even see people besides whoever they're after?"

Malfoy shrugged. "Probably. It's easier to find someone if you can find the people they spend time with. Anyway, the trouble with being a ghost is that you can't change your mind afterward. I'd hate to decide that was what I wanted and then not have anywhere to haunt - I'm sure the ghosts at the manor wouldn't have me, and it would just be horribly depressing to haunt the officers' barracks, so I'd be stuck lurking around corners at Hogwarts forever. Wretched way to spend eternity. I don't think I'll do it."

Harry nodded slowly. "I don't suppose you have a portrait somewhere?"

"There's one in the manor. There was, anyway. I don't know if it's still there. I wouldn't be surprised if they've started throwing darts at it over brandy in the evenings. Even if they haven't, it wouldn't be much use. Mum had it done when I was six. I expect spending eternity as a six-year-old is even worse than spending it in the company of that soppy Hufflepuff ghost." He yawned. "Anyway, I only came back here so I could feel I'd made my peace with everyone I ought to. If you don't mind, I'll be spending the night off in the woods somewhere. You and Granger have probably seen enough corpses for one week."

"Right. I appreciate it. Well... thanks. And apology accepted. And I guess I ought to apologize for my side of things as well."

"Oh, not at all."

"Shut up." Harry held out one hand, blushing fiercely. "I _am_ sorry, you know. We've been on the same side for years now, and I've spent the whole time holding stupid schoolboy grudges. I should have grown up ages ago."

"We both should have." Malfoy put his hand out as well, also blushing, with an end result that might have been suitable for the Most Awkward Handshake world finals. "Well. Goodbye, then, Captain."

"Don't."

"Oh, for - well, what do you want me to call you _now_, then?"

Harry shrugged. "It's not as if we're great friends, but using names wouldn't be out of place."

"All right. Goodbye, then - ugh, you don't mean I have to call you _Harry_, do you?"

"Merlin, no. I'd have to call you Draco if you did, and I don't think I could stomach that. Potter will do."

"Right. Shall we try this again?"

"Goodbye, Malfoy." Harry reached out to shake his hand again, more surely this time. "For a complete prat, you're not a bad lieutenant."

"And you're not a bad captain." Malfoy smiled crookedly. "For a complete prat. Goodbye, Potter."


	16. Suspicions

Robby answered promptly when they knocked at the door the next morning. "Master is saying Robby is to let you and Miss Doctor Granger in today, Harry Potter!" he said. "Come in! Robby is making tea for his master's friends! Come in!"

"_Thank_ you, Robby," Hermione said after a moment's hesitation, bending down so her face was level with the house-elf's and making deliberate eye contact as if to prove her sincerity. "Why don't you sit down and have a rest, and we'll pour our own tea?"

"No, Miss Doctor Granger!" Robby looked shocked. "Robby is serving the tea, and Miss Doctor Granger and Harry Potter is talking to Robby's master." The house-elf beamed. "Robby's tea is made just the way Miss Doctor Granger and Harry Potter is drinking it when Robby is serving tea before!"

"That's excellent, Robby, really," Harry said absently, stepping across the threshold. "Thanks a lot - ow, Hermione, _what_?"

She tugged on his wrist. "I... oh, I've just remembered something. Something, er, back at the camp. That I have to do."

"Something at the camp?" Harry turned to follow her, bewildered. "'Bye, Robby... I expect we'll be back again soon..."

As soon as they were well away from the house, just over the nearest hill, he dug in his heels and brought both of them to a stop. "D'you know you're the worst liar I've ever had the privilege to meet?" he asked, his tone conversational. "Honestly, what was _that_ about?"

"Keep moving." She gave his wrist another sharp tug.

"The camp's the other way."

"We're not going to the _camp_." Hermione's voice was full of disdain. "Don't you ever listen to anything _anyone_ says? If people like you paid closer attention to house-elves-"

"Do you think that, just this once, you could perhaps skip the house-elf manifesto and move straight to the point?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "_If you'd paid closer attention_, you'd have heard Robby say that Bill told him to let _you_ and _me_ in. Not Malfoy. And he's already got tea prepared the way you and I take it. Again, not Malfoy. And none of this strikes you as just the _slightest_ bit suspicious?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, you got to be a captain _how_, exactly?"

"Well, being the only one who could kill Voldemort may have had a bit to do with it," Harry said crossly. "I _was_ listening. I just thought he'd probably had Robby out to look in on us last night. He's snuck up to our tents before without us noticing, you know. He could perfectly well have looked in and seen that Malfoy wasn't there."

Hermione shook her head vehemently. "I'm sure Bill has more control over the monsters than he's admitting. I don't think it's safe for us to go into the house. We need to get Ginny and go, as soon as we can."

"Well, how are we meant to get Ginny without going into the house?"

"We're going to the cave." Hermione began marching determinedly forward once more. "I'm going to take the test. And I'm going to pass it."

"Hermione!" Harry ran to catch up with her. "You can't-"

She glared at him. "I _can_. It's a test. I've never failed a test, and I won't fail this one."

They kept walking, in silence.

It was some ten minutes later, deep inside the woods, when Hermione stopped suddenly. "I think this is it," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "It's the only cave I've seen, and there aren't any more hills around here for one to be inside." She looked carefully at the curve of the low hilltop. "Does that look... natural?"

Harry gave it a cursory glance. "No."

"You didn't even look."

"You're about to go into a cave and face some mad ghosts who want to kill us, and you're worried about whether it's a natural feature? Hermione, is this really the time for geological inquiry?" He sighed and took a closer look. "Anyway, I was right the first time. It's too round to be natural. Someone built it. You know, I _really_ don't think it's a good idea to go in there..."

"Nonsense." Before he could stop her, she was inside the cave - too far inside, in the darkness, to be seen from where he stood.


	17. Hermione's Test

Hermione stepped forward, refusing to think about how dark it was. "Hello?" she called. "I know someone's in here. I'm here to take the test."

There was a long silence, which she was sure was the most unnerving response possible. Then, from somewhere much further inside the cave - too far ahead to be contained within the small hill she'd seen from outside - came a sudden blaze of light.

Somebody was silhouetted in it.

"Hello?" Mentally, Hermione chided herself; there was no need to sound uncertain. _Of course this is unnatural. You've been doing magic since you were eleven years old, and all of a sudden "unnatural" concerns you?_ She shook her head and kept walking, moving toward the shadow. "Hello, who's there?"

From this angle, she could see that the silhouette was definitely a female shape, and when it spoke, its voice was warm and affectionate and very feminine. "I am the test," she said softly, and then she stretched out a hand toward Hermione.

"Come closer so we can see each other, Hermione Granger. Come into the light."


	18. A Realization

As Hermione came flying out of the cave, moving so fast that her feet hardly seemed to touch the ground, Harry bolted upright, wand at the ready. "What is it?" he demanded. "What happened? What was the test? What _happened_?"

"It... it was me," she panted, stumbling to a halt and tugging at Harry's elbow. "The ghost. At first I couldn't see her face, and she said I had to get past her, and - will you come _on_?"

Harry sighed and allowed himself to be led out of the woods before he stopped and repeated, "So what happened?"

"Well, when she turned around to face me, I could see she was wearing a mask like the ones _they_ used to wear-"

"May I assume that 'they' means the Death Eaters?"

"Of _course_ it does, who else do you know that wears masks?" Hermione said furiously. "Now do you want to hear this, or not? She was wearing a mask just like those ones, and so I thought, all right, it's a duel, I dueled loads of Death Eaters in the War, I can handle this - do you think we should get a little further away?"

"If you want to."

"Good. I do." She marched the two of them some distance further on, stopping on the other side of a large stone that would hide them from any watchers in the fringes of the forest, and went on, "So I cast a few curses - oh, don't look so worried, I didn't use anything _serious _- but she didn't fight back, just fell over, and the mask just sort of faded away and it was _me_ underneath!"

Harry blinked owlishly at her. "Er... not to make light of the situation, but you haven't been watching Muggle films lately, have you?"

"I know." Hermione sat down on the grass, leaning against the stone, and beckoned him down to join her. "I've got a theory about that, though. I think they can only work with what's already in your head. I must have watched _Star Wars_ a million times, I know that scene backwards and forwards, and walking into a dark cave to face a mysterious enemy - the comparison occurred to me. And the - the ghosts, I suppose - I don't think they're ghosts at all, but anyway, they pick up what you're thinking, and they use it. Except she couldn't actually look like Darth Vader, because she knew I'd think that was ridiculous, but - well, look, anyway, that's not important. The thing is, they know what we're _thinking_."

"Well, yeah. I mean, they know what we're afraid of, anyway. Otherwise Neville wouldn't have seen that toy monkey of his." Harry shrugged. "That's important?"

"Of _course_ it's important!" She looked at him crossly. "Look, think of it this way. Taking the test shows them how to get into your head. Before that, they can't go very deep, but once you've taken the test, they can get into your subconscious. Bill doesn't _think_ he controls them, but he _does_! It's his subconscious mind! Harry, we have to get _out_ of here!"

Harry sighed. "I _know_ we have to get out of here, all right? But we have to get Ginny and Bill out of here, too. No, _don't_ start going on about leaving Bill, there's not time for an argument right now - he didn't mean to hurt anybody, and I'm not leaving him here to be torn to bits by these things. We'll fetch the two of them, we'll leave, and we'll tell Dumbledore to leave the wards up to keep anyone else from wandering in here and getting on the bad side of those ghosts. Come on."


	19. An Agreement

"Bill," Harry began, settling onto the couch and politely dismissing Robby's offer of a butterbeer, "this morning, before we even came inside, Robby said you'd told him to let me and Hermione in, and to make tea the way we take it. How did you know it was just going to be the two of us?"

"It just made sense. I heard the noises last night, and I reckoned it was most likely Malfoy." Bill frowned. "What, you're not still on about me controlling the monsters, are you? I've told you, I don't have that kind of control over them."

Hermione leaned forward. "I think you do, though," she said earnestly. "You just don't know it."

"Hermione thinks they can access your subconscious once you've taken the test," Harry interrupted, hoping to stave off one of Hermione's endless explanations. "She went into the cave today, and based on the way things went in there, she thinks she has evidence that going into their territory gives them access to your thoughts."

Bill sighed. "Look, they're _ghosts_. They can't do that sort of thing."

"If they can unleash monsters, who says they can't do this?" Hermione spread her hands. "I don't think they really _are_ ghosts, you see. They're more a sort of... leftover magic. The people who lived here originally probably created them as a sort of guard, something to keep anyone else from coming in and taking over, but... I don't know. Perhaps they lost control and the guards turned against them, or there was some kind of illness, or they just moved on - whatever it was, they didn't deactivate the guards before they went. Curse-breaking's your field of expertise - I'll bet you could get rid of them yourself, if you had the time to figure it out."

"Maybe." Bill leaned back in his seat. "You went into the cave, you said? So you must have taken the test. Did you pass it?"

She looked down. "I don't think so. I tried to make it into a fight, but I don't think that's what I was meant to do."

"It wasn't," Bill said, and his voice was suddenly deadly serious. "You need to leave, right away. How long will it take the two of you to pack up your camp?"

They looked at each other. "An hour?" Harry said eventually, shrugging his shoulders. "The tents are a mess, so it'll take us a while to stow everything away. Should we meet you back here when we're finished, then?"

"No, we'll come out to find you. Just make sure you have that Portkey ready for us by nightfall."

"Don't worry," Harry said solemnly. "I will."


	20. The Final Attack

"Did you hear that?"

Hermione looked around nervously. "No. What?"

"That noise. Like a twig snapping, over there." Harry grinned, leaning back against a tree and folding his hands behind his head. "It's probably just Bill and Ginny. They're late enough as it is."

"I don't like that you're hearing noises," Hermione said, standing and moving a little closer to him on the pretense of looking over his shoulder into the woods. "It's getting dark. It's just about the right time for monsters, isn't it?"

"Bill's haircut is pretty monstrous..."

"Harry, _stop_ it!" She glared at him. "How can you be so relaxed? I took the test! They're going to come after me next! I _know_ they are!"

He stood and reached out awkwardly, putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's not going to happen, Hermione. We're getting out of here tonight. Nothing - oh dear God. Did you see that?"

"See _what_?"

"You know, if _I_ saw it, it's pretty much guaranteed that it's not a monster coming after _you_," Harry pointed out. "Anyway, I think it was just a shadow. It just sort of looked like a person for a second, is all. What's taking them so long, do you suppose?"

"Harry! It wasn't a shadow!" Hermione caught hold of his sleeve. "I just saw something! Over there! It looked like a person!"

"Well, it's probably Bill and Ginny, then," Harry said reasonably, extricating his arm from her grip and raising his hands to cup around his mouth. "Oi! You two! Hurry up, will you? It's creepy out here!"

There was a long moment's silence. Then, from the edge of the woods, there came a snarl. Both of them flung themselves away from it, backs against a tree and clinging tightly to each other's hands. "Do you see anything?" Hermione managed to whisper after a moment.

"Yeah. There's someone there. See him?"

"Yes." She swallowed. "It looks like Professor Lupin."

Harry didn't even take the time to roll his eyes and give her the customary 'you're twenty-six years old now, you _can_ call him by his first name' speech; he just nodded. "I know. Except I don't think he's going to stay the same shape for long. Otherwise we wouldn't have any reason to be scared."

"Hermione? Harry?" Both of them whirled at the sound of their names; Bill came striding into the clearing, Ginny and Robby lagging behind by a few paces. "There you are! We got mixed up, thought your campsite was further west. It's a bit embarrassing having to cast a locator spell in your own woods, you know." He looked more closely at the two of them. "Are you all right?"

"Look over there," Hermione said, pointing. When Bill gasped, she explained, "Harry and I can both see him, too. Something's happening. They don't want anyone to know how they work."

Bill nodded. "Come here, Ginny. Stay close. Harry, is the Portkey ready?"

"No." Harry pulled the miniature Beater's bat out of his pocket and un-shrunk it with a flick of his wand. "It'll take about three minutes to set up, and after that, we'll have one minute before it goes." He half-closed his eyes and started murmuring the memorized incantation, and the others settled down to wait.

With only a dozen words left to go, all hell broke loose.

The shape at the edge of the woods had finally begun to change, growling and snapping its jaws, its face elongating as it dropped to all fours, fur sprouting all over. As Hermione shrieked and tried to draw her wand, somehow getting it caught in her sleeve, the werewolf sprang forward and Bill leapt out to meet it halfway. Harry managed to keep his concentration for the last few seconds needed, and as the Portkey glowed for an instant in his hand, he reached out and grabbed at the first hands he found - Ginny's and Robby's, as it turned out. "Hold this!" he shouted at them. "Bill! Hermione! It's ready! Hurry!"

Bill glanced up for an instant from where he stood, circling with the werewolf, Hermione covering him against surprise attacks from a few feet away. "If I take my wand off it, it'll bite somebody!"

"Bill, come _on_!" Ginny was nearly in tears.

He shook his head. "Hermione's been right all along, you know. I have been controlling them. I just didn't realize it. You lot go. I've got to stay here. I started this. I'll finish it."

"Bill-"

"_Go!_ Hermione, you too!"

With a sob, Hermione turned and fled toward the Portkey, her hand locking around it at one end just as Robby let go of the other end. "Robby cannot leave his master!" he cried, flinging himself forward, toward Bill and the werewolf. "Robby cannot-" but before he could reach Bill to pull him back, the Portkey had activated, and the three of them left holding onto it were jerked through space and into the General's office, where they tumbled to the floor, all three of them crying, Harry pulling Ginny into a desperate embrace.

**THE END**


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